CHENNAI, India (AFP) — World number two Rafael Nadal said on Sunday he is fit and ready for the Australian Open despite suffering an embarrassing defeat in the ATP Chennai Open final here.

Nadal was demolished by fourth-seeded Mikhail Youzhny 6-0, 6-1 in a disappointing 58-minute final, raising fears the feisty Spaniard may not be fit for the first Grand Slam event, in Melbourne from January 14.

The 21-year-old called for a trainer midway through the second set, but afterwards insisted he was not injured.

"I am fine, there is nothing wrong with me," Nadal told AFP. "I called the trainer because I was feeling a bit tired."

"I look forward to going to Melbourne and training hard for the Australian Open. It is a tournament which interests me a lot."

Nadal reached the quarter-final at the Open last year, but did not progress beyond the fourth round in two earlier appearances in Melbourne.

Nadal looked exhausted after his marathon semi-final against compatriot Carlos Moya on Saturday which lasted three hours and 54 minutes as all three sets went into tie-breaks.

It was the longest three-set match since 1993 when Andrei Cherkasov beat Andrea Gaudenzi in the quarter-finals of the Tel Aviv Open over the same duration.

Nadal admitted returning to the court less than 24 hours after the gruelling encounter against Moya was tough.

"I was a bit tired, but Mikhail played unbelievable tennis and deserved to win. He was the better player today."

"But I am not very worried. I think I played quite well in this tournament and am happy to have reached the final in the first one of the season."

"The good thing is I leave this tournament without any injury. It has been a good start to the year for me. I have had good practice."

On Sunday, Nadal failed to hold any of his three service games in the first set, which Youzhny won in just 24 minutes.

Youzhny then broke his rival twice -- in the fourth and sixth games of the second set -- before wrapping up the match on his own serve.

It was Youzhny's fourth win in seven matches on hard courts against Nadal and earned him 68,800 dollars and 35 ATP race points in the season-opener in this southern Indian city.

Nadal won 37,350 dollars and 24 points.

The Russian, who lost in the second round in his only other Chennai appearance in 2001, won his fourth ATP title in a morale-boosting result.

"This victory is a present from Rafael," said Youzhny.

"He could not move today, he could not play. Maybe he was tired after last night's match against Moya."

"I did not think it would be so easy. I thought he would come back strongly in the second set but once I broke him in the fourth game, I knew I only had to ensure I did not make mistakes."

"I improved with every match in this tournament and I hope I continue the same way at the Australian Open," said the Russian, who has never progressed beyond the fourth round in Melbourne.

Nadal lost in the semi-finals here last year to eventual champion Xavier Malisse of Belgium. The defeat on Sunday was only his seventh in 30 ATP finals.

Djokovic after his Madrid 2009 Semi with Rafa: “Next time I’ll probably take two rackets on the match point and try to hit with both of them. It’s frustrating that when you play so well you can’t win.”

I just hope Nadal will surprise us all like at Indian Wells. From the court reports, it seems like it is pretty slow and Gasquet was complaining about the heavy balls. Did he comment on the surface at all?

“For life be, after all, only a waitin' for somethin' else than what we're doin'; and death be all that we can rightly depend on.” - Bram Stoker, Dracula

From all I read I understood the balls are getting quite fluffy and big. I remember Uncle Toni and Rafa insisting that the court speed is not an issue for Rafa but the balls. Everything depends on the balls. He likes them to be "alive" just like how a fluffy ball is.

For the very first time Rafael Nadal has in his sights the possibility of reaching number one at a tournament: the Australian Open which begins at Melbourne Park on Monday. But to achieve this he must be champion or runner-up and hope that Roger Federer does not get past the quarter-finals. There is now just a 650 point difference between him and the Swiss player in the ATP world ranking. Nadal has never been so close, although being number one is not something that worries him at the moment.

"Being number one does not worry me in the least, I just hope Roger will be fit enough to play a good tournament," Toni Nadal, the player's trainer, said yesterday in a telephone conversation with this newspaper before travelling to Melbourne to join his nephew.

"WORN OUT"

Despite Nadal's defeat in the Chennai final, his coach is optimistic about the way the world number two has started the season. "I think Rafael played well in India," said Toni Nadal, who played down the thrashing he suffered at the hands of Mikhail Youzhny, only managing to win one game in the 57 minute match. "We knew he was going to have a bad time. Rafael had already told me the day before that he was absolutely worn out. There wasn't a match at all in the final. I think he paid the consequences of the four hours he was on court against Moyà the previous day," explained the Mallorcan coach, who had not been able to watch his nephew on television as they did not have the digital channel where he was celebrating "Kings' Day" (Jan 6th Epiphany, when the Three Wise Men bring Spanish children their Xmas gifts) with his three small children.

Toni Nadal said Nadal had no physical problem. "The thing was not to force himself. The important thing is to be fit and well for Australia and I think Rafa will be. He is feeling good on court. The final aside, I liked the way he was playing. Perhaps his groundstrokes were a few inches short, not quite deep enough, the day he played Moyà, but it was his first tournament and Rafael always finds that hard."

Nadal will begin practising in Melbourne tomorrow. He has five days to get the feel of the new surface that is to be used this year at the Australian Open.

From all I read I understood the balls are getting quite fluffy and big. I remember Uncle Toni and Rafa insisting that the court speed is not an issue for Rafa but the balls. Everything depends on the balls. He likes them to be "alive" just like how a fluffy ball is.

I think that's what I read too. So hopefully its good news for him. I would like to hear his opinion though.

“For life be, after all, only a waitin' for somethin' else than what we're doin'; and death be all that we can rightly depend on.” - Bram Stoker, Dracula